Negotiating the food labelling labyrinth
Date Posted: Wednesday, October 03, 2007Author: Christen Pears
Health
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Pick up any packet of food these days and you’re bombarded with nutritional information and claims - no net carbs, no trans fats, low GI, no added sugar – but what does it all mean? For most of us the information on the side of the packet is difficult to decipher especially when dashing round the supermarket stocking up for the weekly shop.
“I go into the supermarket with people who think they have a good idea of what they’re looking for but often they really don’t,” says Sarah McKittrick, Clinical Dietician at the KEMH Diabetes Centre.
“A lot of the information on the label is often irrelevant and can be misleading so you think you’re making a good choice but if you look more closely it’s not the case. For example sugar free cookies are actually full of carbs, which will eventually turn to sugar anyway. It can be dangerous because you assume you’re making a healthier choice and probably end up eating more. I’d rather people ate what they enjoyed but in smaller portions.”
It seems that every few months a new term appears on food labels, making claims about its dietary properties. Low fat and reduced sugar have been with us for while but what about more recent ones such as low carb or low GI – should shoppers be taking notice?
Sarah thinks not. “Advice changes all the time and if nutritionists are confused then what hope is there for the rest of us? It’s a distraction from the real issues. When you’re looking at a label you should focus on portion size, fat and sugar content,” she says.
Portion size is one of the biggest factors in the rise in obesity over recent years. The average portion size in a diner has increases threefold since 1970 and yet we’re less physically active than we were. Sarah has a collection of chip packets which show how portion size has increased over time.
“This is the kind of thing people would get through in one or two nights in front of the TV but when you read the label it’s actually seven servings,” she says, holding up a packet of chips.
“Similarly with a drink. It may be sold in a 16 fl oz bottle but the serving size is only 8 oz. You may look at the label and think you’re getting 30g of sugar but when you look more closely you see it’s actually 60g. If you’re drinking three or four sweet drinks a day you could easily be consuming more than 1,000 calories and it doesn’t just apply to sodas. Flavoured waters and fruit juices often contain high amounts of sugar.
“Manufacturers need to be more responsible because there is a lot of mis-representation in terms of serving size but it’s also up to consumers to educate themselves. Always check how many servings there are.”
Sarah is very much in favour of smaller portions or snack sizes. Some manufacturers now produce 100 calorie packs so consumers know exactly what they’re getting.
Snack foods are energy dense, which means they contain a lot of calories but have little nutritional value. The average woman should consume around 45 to 50g of fat a day and the average man 60g. Sarah recommends allowing 5g fat for a snack but the average bag of chips contains 15g.
She says the only way to deal with the problem is to change mindsets and behaviours. If you know you’re easily tempted, for example, don’t keep unhealthy snacks in the house. If you know you’re going to busy at work ahead plan ahead and take in healthy snacks or lunch rather than buying chips or pizza.
“People need to think about what they’re eating and realise that they do have choices. That’s not going to happen overnight but what we hope is that when you do educate someone they will then pass the message on to other people. That’s certainly what happens at the Diabetes Centre. You treat one person but they go home and educate the whole family.”
It’s a common myth that healthy food is unappetizing but Sarah disagrees. “Be creative. Use herb and spices. Buy yourself a cookery book. No-one’s saying you have to deprive yourself but eat things in moderation or look for an alternative. Choose lower fat milk or whole grain pasta or eat the things you like but not as often and in smaller portions. A lot of people have had success in losing weight by eating the food they enjoy but eating it off a salad plate.”
Ideally half of the plate should be taken up with vegetables, one quarter with carbohydrates and the other with protein. There has been a lot of publicity about carbs in recent years with the hugely-popular Atkins Diet advocated cutting carbs to lose weight. Although extreme, Sarah says Atkins and similar diets did raise awareness about the importance of choosing the right carbs, such as wholegrains, and the importance of portion size.
“There is nothing wrong with eating carbs but you do need to eat the right portion. I would recommend a tennis ball sized portion, or around a cup, of starch. Some people need more, some less but some people have two or three on a regular basis and that’s where you start to see problems.”
There are no easy solutions but in her work at the Diabetes Centre Sarah has worked with hundreds of patients who have transformed their diets and increased their life expectancy as a result.
She says: “There are no short-term solutions. It has to be a sustained effort but everyone has the choice to improve their diet. There is a genetic component but it’s not everything. Genetics may load the gun but they don’t pull the trigger. There are still things you can do. If there’s a history of diabetes in the family you may be able to put it off. Don’t just sit around saying ‘I’m doomed’.”